


Unfamiliar Love

by mannana



Category: The Walking Dead (TV)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-10-23
Updated: 2014-10-23
Packaged: 2018-02-22 06:52:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 952
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2498642
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mannana/pseuds/mannana
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>I can't speak my mind<br/>I can't even speak<br/>I'm fine<br/>Tell me why'd you go<br/>Tell me 'cause I'm nervous<br/>Take it slow</p><p>J Mascis - Very Nervous And Love Lyrics</p>
            </blockquote>





	Unfamiliar Love

Beth had always known love. The love of her family and friends was familiar. It kept her warm when she felt sick or helpless. It kept her going when she felt lost and confused. The love of her father, although nowadays it could easily make her weep, was still strong, still vibrant in her heart. Love like that? It made you stronger. It made you lighter. It made you better. It put the smile on your face after a long day and made you wake up with a smile.  
  
Yeah, Beth was familiar with that sort of love.   
  
Maggie’s love was different, as it is with siblings. You could hate each other for days, for no real reason, and still rush to their side at the faintest hint of distress. Maggie and Beth don’t tell each other they love each other much anymore, but they didn’t need to. Sisterly love is a magical thing, it heals nearly any wound or heart ache. So saying it out loud almost seemed to diminish that magic.   
  
But then there was this other sort of love. A new kind she was completely unfamiliar with.  
  
The love she felt now, right now, the love staring her in the face with the softest blue eyes she’d ever seen.  
  
It was something she’d never met before. It was consuming and heavy. It filled her completely, all the way to her bones. And she felt as if it could empty her in seconds with nothing more than a breath or one vile word, leaving her nothing but an empty shell.   
  
It scared her to death.   
  
She had no doubt it was a double edged sword, loving him like this, but how do you stop it? (How to stop a runaway train with no brakes, when you’re tied to the tracks? How do you hold off an entire army of Walkers with your hands behind your back?)   
  
You don’t.   
  
You cave. You give in. You give yourself over to it and hope like hell it’s handled with care. You put your heart in someone else’s hands expecting them to help keep it beating.   
  
She shouldn’t be scared; she knows he’ll take care of it. She knows he’ll treat it better than she ever did.   
  
But handing it over, taking that chance, leaving that gaping fucking hole in your chest and praying, praying to God he replaces it with his own is terrifying.  
  
But he does it without a second thought. He barely even noticed he did it.

   
And she can feel it beating in her own chest now, his strong heart, his warm heart. It’s too big for her. It’s a lot to handle. But the way his eyes melt into her soul, the way his fingertips shake against her cheek, she knows her heart is thumping loudly in his chest too.   
  
She fears her heart isn’t strong enough for him though. That it won’t fill him like his does hers. Like it’ll leave an open space, a void, that can’t be filled.  
  
She doesn’t want to be scared of that.  
  
And he can see the worry there, written on her face, but he doesn’t address it. He just ghosts his fingertips over her lips, her chin, and her jaw. Then down her neck until they fall to her collar bone.  
  
She’s still bruised and battered. Still tired and sore. She’s just starting to warm from his touch when he pulls his hand away.  
  
She gasps. The loss is tremendous.   
  
His eyes widen, afraid he’s touched too much, and she can see the quiver of his bottom lip.   
  
“Come back,” She whispers but he’s already moving. Fading into the trees. 

  
She knows soon there’ll be no trace of him. The feeling of his fingertips just a memory. And soon that hole in her chest will envelope her and leave her breathless. And it scares her to death.   


 

 

  
  
He comes to her later. Much later. He doesn’t say a word when he lies down beside her. Just wraps his arms around her waist and pulls her to his chest. He breathes heavy on her neck, and the warmth from his body is instant and it radiates through her muscles slow and heavy like molasses. She hadn’t realized just how tense she was until that moment; just then when her muscles start to relax and sleep seems finally possible.  
  
“Don’t run anymore.” She whispers and intertwines her fingers with his at her waist. “I don’t want you to run.”   
  
She knows she’s pleading. She doesn’t care.  
  
He hums into her neck and she feels him nod.  
  
“Don’t mean to,” He mumbles and she can feel him tense behind her.   
  
She turns to face him. She needs to see.  
  
Because she understands that. The fear in his eyes. It’s overwhelming. She can’t hide it from her own. He sees it plain as day.  
  
But it’s there. That unfamiliar love, the one she’s only just met. It’s there when she cups his cheek and hears the stutter to his breath.   
  
And it’s real. So real. It’s thick as she slides her hand down his chest, unbuttoning his shirt as she goes. It seeps out with every timid breath she exhales and every nervous touch she places on his skin. She traces her fingers lightly through the hair on his belly. She feels his muscles contract under her touch.  
  
That love, it lingers in the air between their lips before she kisses him and it buries itself deep within her soul with every gasp and every groan.

 

  
  
Yes, this love is unfamiliar. And scary as hell. But she’ll live in fear for the remainder of her days if it means spending her nights with Daryl Dixon.

**Author's Note:**

> I know, I know, not very original song choice. But the song is beautiful and perfect.


End file.
